ALCANTARA — Fifth-seed Dumaguete leaned on Ronald Roy and Jaybie Mantilla late to stun fourth-ranked Tabogon in overtime, 67-65, in the stepladder playoffs of the Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas VisMin Super Cup, Saturday at the Civic Center here in Cebu.
It was a fiercely fought match that saw players from both sides get bruised, battered, and even bloodied. However, in the end, it was Dumaguete that came out on top to earn the right to take on the ARQ Builders Lapu-Lapu in a do-or-die game on Sunday at 6PM for the last semifinals ticket.
Tied at 63-all in the extra session, Roy knocked in a booming triple from the right-wing to shove Dumaguete ahead, 66-63, with 1:37 left in the game. Tabogon then pulled to within one, 65-66, after Jethro Sombero and Harold Arboleda split their trips to the charity stripe.
The Voyagers even had a shot at taking the lead but guard Joemari Lacastesantos committed a costly blunder, calling a timeout when they had none, resulting in a technical foul being called on them. Mantilla made the free-throw to extend Dumaguete’s lead to two, 67-65, time down to just seven seconds.
Tabogon still had an opportunity, though, but Arboleda badly missed a three-pointer while Arvie Bringas flubbed his fadeaway jumper as time expired to give Dumaguete the thrilling win.
Mantilla, Roy, and Mark Doligon all came double-double performances in the league’s very first overtime match.
Mantilla came away with 24 points, 12 rebounds, three assists, and four steals while Doligon added 17 markers, 10 boards, two dimes, a steal, and a block.
Roy, a 5-foot-10 guard out of Marikina, chipped in 11 points and 12 boards.
Mantilla, a former MVP of the CESAFI, said that he was running on fumes after playing a whopping 37 minutes. However, he added that he and the rest of his teammates just need to shrug this off and move on to Sunday’s game versus ARQ.
“We’re all very tired but we still need to focus on Sunday’s game so we can’t relax,” said the University of San Jose-Recoletos product. “We need to fight to win or we’re all going home.”
The loss spoiled the monster game of Bringas who scored 13 of his 18 points in the fourth to tow Tabogon back from a 10-point deficit. He also hauled in 21 rebounds.
Lacastesantos added 10 points, nine boards, seven assists, and three steals.
The Scores:
Dumaguete (67)—Mantilla 24, Doligon 17, Roy 11, Gabas 7, Regalado 4, Monteclaro 2, Tomilloso 2, Velasquez 0, Aguilar 0.
Tabogon (65)—Bringas 18, Lacastesantos 10, Orquina 8, Sombero 8, Delos Reyes 7, Arboleda 5, Vitug 3, Diaz 2, Bersabal 2, De Ocampo 2, Caballero 0.
Quarterscores: 17-15, 31-28, 47-38, 59-59, 67-65.
